Introduction
Technological revolutions have always provoked a mix of wonder and fear. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries and today’s AI Revolution both represent seismic shifts in how humans live and work. Yet, despite centuries of progress, societal responses to these upheavals, resistance, adaptation, and ethical debate, remain strikingly similar. By examining the Luddite movement of the early 1800s, contemporary backlash against artificial intelligence, and the unique resistance from artists and the FOSS community, we can see how history repeats itself, not in identical ways, but in patterns of human behavior when faced with rapid change. We at OS-SCi believe we have to play a role in this development, by bringing nuance and education.
The Industrial Revolution: Fear and the Luddite Backlash
The Industrial Revolution transformed economies from agrarian to machine-driven, bringing unprecedented productivity but also profound disruption. Skilled textile workers, known as Luddites, became symbols of resistance. Facing job loss and deskilling due to mechanized looms and factories, they destroyed machinery in organized raids, not out of opposition to technology itself, but as a desperate plea for fair wages and job security in an era of economic upheaval. The Luddites were not technophobes; they were workers whose livelihoods were threatened by unregulated industrialization. Their protests, though ultimately suppressed by state force, highlighted the human cost of progress and spurred later labor reforms and the rise of trade unions [historyextra.com+2]. The movement’s legacy is complex: while the Luddites failed to stop industrialization, their demands for better working conditions and economic justice echoed through the 19th century, shaping modern labor rights [historywanderer.com+1].
The Luddites’ story also reveals a recurring theme: technological change often outpaces societal adaptation, leaving workers vulnerable and sparking cultural nostalgia for a lost way of life. Their resistance was not just about machines, but about the loss of autonomy and the devaluation of skilled labor in the face of capitalist expansion [smithsonianmag.com+2].
Family Legacy and Industrial Transformation in Tilburg’s Textile Industry
A photograph from circa 1870, prominently displayed above my desk, captures a moment in Tilburg, a city renowned as one of the Netherlands’ foremost textile industrial hubs during the 19th century. The image features five men, all impeccably dressed, standing side by side. The central figure is my third great-grandfather; to his immediate right stands my second great-grandfather, while the man on the far right is my great-grandfather. The two men on the left are brothers of my second great-grandfather.
The four men on the left were employed as textile workers, a profession deeply intertwined with the Luddite movement, a resistance against the mechanization of the textile industry, which threatened traditional craftsmanship and livelihoods (Sale, 1995; Randell, 2006). Their roles reflected the broader socio-economic tensions of the era, as industrialization reshaped labor practices and displaced skilled artisans.
In contrast, my great-grandfather, positioned on the far right, embodied the shift toward new industrial occupations. He became a fireman or stoker, the individual responsible for operating and maintaining the steam engines that powered factories and locomotives. This profession, born of the Industrial Revolution, not only defined his career but also became a hereditary occupation, passed down to my grandfather and father. However, the transition from steam to electricity in the mid-20th century marked the end of this era. My father, the last in this lineage of stokers, lost his job shortly after marrying my mother in 1967, as factories increasingly adopted electric power and phased out steam engines (Hommels, 2005; Smil, 2005). This historical shift underscores the inevitable decline of steam-powered industries and the broader impact of technological change on generational livelihoods.
The AI Revolution: New Technology, Old Fears
Fast forward to the 21st century, and the AI Revolution is provoking similar anxieties. AI and automation are reshaping industries, from manufacturing to creative fields, and displacing jobs at a pace that outstrips society’s ability to adapt. Experts warn that by 2025, 85 million jobs could be disrupted by automation, even as new roles emerge [francescatabor.com+1]. Like the Luddites, today’s critics of AI, ranging from grassroots activists to tech whistleblowers, voice concerns about job displacement, ethical risks, and the concentration of power in the hands of a technological elite [francescatabor.com+2].
Resistance takes many forms: calls for AI regulation, debates about algorithmic bias, and movements like PauseAI, which advocates for a moratorium on advanced AI development to assess its societal impacts [nationalgeographic.com+2]. Governments and industries are grappling with how to manage this transition, with some advocating for reskilling programs and others warning of a growing digital divide that could deepen inequality [news.un.org+1].
Yet, just as the Industrial Revolution eventually created more jobs than it destroyed, AI is expected to generate new opportunities, though not without significant cultural and political adaptation. The key difference is speed: while industrialization unfolded over decades, AI’s impact is compressed into years, demanding faster responses from policymakers and workers alike [medium.com+1].
Artists and the FOSS Community: Unique Fronts of Resistance
Artists: The rise of AI-generated art has sparked a fierce backlash from visual artists, illustrators, and photographers. Many argue that AI image generators, trained on vast datasets of copyrighted works, constitute copyright infringement on an unprecedented scale. In response, artists have staged protests, flooded platforms like ArtStation and DeviantArt with anti-AI placards, and filed lawsuits against companies like Midjourney and Stability AI. Their core argument is that AI tools devalue human creativity and threaten to replace paid artistic labor with cheap, machine-generated alternatives [corralldesign.com+2]. For example, in 2025, Universal Pictures and Disney sued Midjourney for copyright infringement, and groups of artists leaked early access to AI models to expose their exploitative training practices [en.wikipedia.org]. These actions mirror the Luddites’ tactics, using public pressure and legal challenges to push back against unchecked technological disruption.
FOSS Community: The free and open source software movement, which has long championed transparency and user control, has also resisted certain AI developments. Critics within the FOSS community argue that proprietary AI models, trained on publicly available code and data without consent or compensation, violate the principles of open collaboration. Some developers have called for “copyleft” licenses that prevent AI companies from using open source code for closed, commercial AI systems, while others advocate for fully open AI models that respect community norms and ethical standards.
Parallels and Lessons
Both revolutions reveal how societies react to technological disruption. Fear of the unknown, economic insecurity, and resistance from those who feel marginalized are constants. However, the AI Revolution also presents unique challenges, such as existential risks and the need for global governance frameworks that did not exist in the 19th century [mdpi.com+2].
The Industrial Revolution’s lessons are clear: resistance is natural, but adaptation is inevitable. The Luddites’ struggle led to reforms that improved workers’ lives. Similarly, today’s debates about AI ethics, universal basic income, and digital rights may pave the way for a more equitable technological future. The question is whether society can learn from history quickly enough to avoid repeating its mistakes [historywanderer.com+2].
Conclusion
The parallels between the Luddites, modern AI skeptics, and the resistance from artists and the FOSS community show that human reactions to technological change are cyclical. While the scale and speed of the AI Revolution are unprecedented, the underlying dynamics, fear, resistance, and eventual adaptation, are familiar. By studying the past, we can better navigate the present, ensuring that AI’s benefits are widely shared and its risks mitigated.
Discussion Questions
- How can policymakers balance innovation with protection for workers displaced by AI?
- What role should ethics play in the development and deployment of AI, especially in creative fields?
- Are there unique aspects of AI that make resistance more justified than in the Industrial Revolution?
Bibliography
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